Cadence of Her Last Breath
by NightmareTroubador
Summary: There was just one part, one part of him that longed for her once more. A breath taking butterfly.


Cadence of Her Last Breath

Disclaimer: If I did own Yu-Gi-Oh! you would have seen more of this pairing in canon.

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><p>"<em>Running for her life,<em>

_The dark rain from her eyes still falls,_

_Breathtaking Butterfly,_

_Chose a dark day to live,_

_Save one breath for me…"-_ Cadence of Her Last Breath by Nightwish

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><p>It was certainly a dark day to live, or maybe just a dark time in general.<p>

High Priest Set, Guardian of the Sacred Rod of God, General of the Army and one of the most trusted advisers to the living Horus, knew this was true. As he sat among the ruins of the once grand House of a Million Years, where the Son of Ra ruled, he felt his heart grow bitter and cold. An empty void had opened up and like the fissures of the land was spewing dark shadows that threatened to consume him. Maat, the truth and order of the land seemed to fall and crumble like many of the old temples, soon to be swallowed by the sands.

But everything had changed when he saw her.

_Her._

She was light among the shadows from the first moment he laid eyes on her. Even brusied, batter and cut up by the peasant's harsh treatment, she was truly a jewel of the Great River. Surely this was a sign of the Gods, and Shada's surprise at the powerful Ka that existed within her seemed to confirm his suspicions.

So he saved her, gave her water and food and returned to the palace. There for the first time, he saw the true identity of the divine beast, one that would haunt his dreams for millennia to come, even if he was completely unaware. When he swiftly placed himself in the path of the twisted Ka of the prisoners, he would've gladly died for her. At least he could do something, anything to protect those whom he cared for. He was a man of action, and battle was his calling.

How amazing was it to see the divine light of her Ka as it burst forth from the tiny flesh of prison that it dwelled within. Enraptured by its beauty and awed by its terrifying power as it obliterated the prisoner and his Ka, leaving them to become nothing more than whispers on the wind.

But as much as he loved the dragon and yearned for its light, it was her that he wished to have. He wanted _her _and _her light_ to fill his soul, to guide him through this land of death and blood and shadows. For the first time in his life, he had discovered what it truly meant to love someone.

Certainly he cared for the Pharaoh; they were trusted friends long before he knew of their shared blood. But he had never known family, and even the other priests were just trusted companions. For him, such love and devotion was something new and foreign, an utterly unknown concept that at times downright terrified him.

But no matter how he wished to trap her and her light, he wanted her happiness and life even more. So he told her to run, _runawayruanwayrunaway_ before the fires of war could scar her perfect form. Before the darkness would take her life and snare the beast to become nothing more than one of the many tablets housed in the Shrine of Wedju. The land was too soaked within sin for such a pure creature.

But fate's perversity snatched her away, and in a moment with a single flash a dark power he held her in his arms, her body still warm and her eyes closed peacefully as if she were merely sleeping. If he were born but a few millennia later he could see the irony of his situation and a famous fairy tale.

He leans forward, his heart aching just to feel her sweet breath once again…

******

He wakes in terrible sweat, his body shaking as if he were suppressing sobs like that Priest… _No! No! That was not him. It wasn't real!_ Running his hands over his face, Seto Kaiba detangles himself from the sheets and heads towards the bathroom.

His normally ice cold blue eyes are now tinged with red and his skin is a sickly pale color. If it weren't for his breathing, one would swear it was a monstrous phantom they were seeing and not the most esteemed CEO of Kaiba Corporation. Turning on the cold water, he fills his hands and splashes it on his face, feeling the worst of it runoff with the water.

Some nights were worse than others, but tonight it was so vivid that even the reality seemed to shrink away like the formerly best student usurped by the class nobody.

A nobody that was a dream.

A dream, yes that's all it was his logical mind insists. His brain is even more efficient than the world's greatest technologies, storing away any and all information like a hoarder. Than with laser perception he whips out facts that cut people down to size, as if his eyes shoot laser beams like Jinzo the Trap destroyer.

But no matter what his logical mind insists, protest, begs and pleads, he can't silence the annoying voice that whispers it was something more. He can't stop the feelings like love that begins to seep through the cracks in his finely placed fortress that surrounds his heart.

Love. Such a poorly used word for such a powerful concept. People throw it about everyday without a care in the world about its real meaning, about what truly loving someone can entail. Mokuba was the only person Seto had ever promised such devotion to. It was a huge responsibility, one that he took seriously, and as a child he had promised to be the father that Mokuba desperately needed. He was no fool and to undertake such a task, one that at times no matter all his power and intelligence he felt like he failed to deliver, was a heavy burden that he could only bear for one person.

Still, whenever the dreams came and he felt that silvery voice wind its way through his mind, bringing to life thoughts and emotions and facts like blooming flowers in spring, he couldn't help that to bear just one more cross was worth it, especially for her.

_Her._

He shakes his head, before returning to his bedside and in simple habit pulling a worn duel monsters card form its place in the deck. Besides Mokuba, there was only one other creature that had a place in his soul, a shining piece that slid into place right next to his brother. It was his pride and soul, his most faithful servant. His brother and his dragon were all that he needed, he was a loner. A loner who had no need for friends, no need for love or some imaginary woman that became a dragon.

He had no reason to feel for some figment of his overworked imagination.

_Seto…_

He starts, looking to the card in his hand, and here an observer would've noted the flash of the woman across its surface, as pale as the moon and as mysterious as the stars.

_A dream within a dream…_

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><p><em>Why do I miss someone I never met?<em>

_With bated breath I lay, Sea winds_

_Brought her to me…_

_A loner longing for (run away run away)_

_The Cadence of Her Last Breath._

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><p><em><strong>Fin.<strong>_


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